Airport staff have been suspended and a top-level investigation launched after an 11-year-old boy got on a flight to Rome without a passport, boarding pass or cash. Liam Corcoran evaded five security checks in Manchester Airport to board the flight.

Hours earlier the youngster had run away from his mother while she was shopping at Wythenshawe Civic Centre and made his way to Manchester Airport.

It is understood Liam followed a family when he got to Terminal 1, which was packed with people heading away for the summer holidays. Security staff there scanned him but failed to realise he was on his own and had no boarding card.

Liam then headed to one of the gates where passengers were boarding Jet2.com flight LS791 to Rome. He managed to bypass a security check at the gate without being asked to show either a passport or a boarding card.

Once on the Boeing aircraft, no-one realised he didn’t have a boarding-card stub.

It is believed Liam then took up one of the seats but crew failed to carry out an accurate headcount to ensure the number of passengers and boarding cards tallied.

The jet took off as normal and it was only during the journey to Italy that passengers became suspicious and told the cabin crew. The crew members alerted the captain who radioed back to Manchester.

Police at Manchester Airport then called the Liam’s anxious mother to tell her that her son was safe and well – but on a plane on the way to Italy.

The aircraft landed as normal at Fiumicino Airport in Rome where the youngster – nearly 1,500 miles from home – was asked to remain on board while the other passengers left the aircraft. He stayed on the aircraft as it took off again on its return to Manchester Airport.

Now a full-scale investigation has been mounted by Manchester Airport and Jet2.com into how the boy managed to evade so many security checks and still end up in Italy. It is understood five members of staff working for Jet2.com have been suspended from duty while the investigation takes place.

In the video below, Alice McKeegan tells how the M.E.N. broke the exclusive story ...

</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The M.E.N. understands Liam, from Wythenshawe, is very interested in planes and buses. Sources say he had no money and did not appear to be distressed at any point during the flights.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">They added: “It’s a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances. He appears to have been milling about with families and been quite smart about it. Several checks should have happened but never did. No-one said ‘where’s your boarding card?’ It was quite an adventure for him.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The returning plane landed at 10.25pm last night and it’s understood that Liam was met by his mother and police officers before being interviewed.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Fellow passengers on the returning plane said that they had been told the alarm was raised when Liam told people on the plane he was running away from home.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">It’s understood that the return flight was delayed by 80 minutes while the plane's crew were quizzed by Italian border police.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Passengers said Liam was accompanied by airline staff who were sat with him.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Passenger Sarah Swayne, 26, from Nantwich, said: “He was very talkative and seemed quite un-fazed by it all. He was just sat there chatting away about how he’d been trying to run away from home.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">“He seemed quite innocent really and I don’t think it had sunk in how serious the situation was.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Another passenger, who did not wish to be named, said: “When the plane touched down, he clearly didn’t want to get off but he was taken down the steps before everyone else and met at the bottom by a group of staff who quickly whisked him away.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “This extremely serious matter is now being urgently investigated. It is clear that documentation has not been checked correctly at security and the boarding gate.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">“The boy went through full security screening so the safety of passengers and the aircraft was never compromised.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">A spokesperson for Jet2.com said: “We are fully investigating the incident as a matter of urgency and the staff involved have been suspended during this investigation.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Aviation security expert Chris Yates said: “This was a lapse but I don't believe this was a serious security breach. Anybody who passes through Manchester Airport must be screened whether that is through a full body scanner or a metal detector. That did happen in this instance.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">“I would imagine that there will now be a series of conversations between the parties to determine who failed and how it can be fixed in very short order.”</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <strong>3,000-mile journey that started at shopping centre</strong> </p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">YOUNG Liam's 3,000-mile adventure across Europe started with just a short dash when he gave his mother the slip as she was shopping at Wythenshawe Civic Centre yesterday morning.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">First, he managed to get to Manchester Airport three miles away. Once he arrived, Liam made his way to Terminal 1. Sources say he appears to have mingled among a number of families as they queued to pass through the security.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">It’s then understood Liam ‘tail-gated’ a family with other children even though he had no passport or boarding card tricking security staff into thinking he was part of the group. By the time he passed through the scanner at security, it was 1.15pm.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">It is understood Liam headed almost immediately to the first departing flight, the 2pm service to Rome where passengers were already queuing to board the flight.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Airline staff at the gate again appear to have thought he was with a family and failed to check for a passport or a boarding card and allowed him to walk to the plane.</p> <p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Once inside the plane, no-one asked to see a boarding pass stub or realise that they had one too many passengers.</p>